Top Tips For Long Haul Flights

June 28, 2018

I feel that I might be about to say an unpopular opinion, so bear with me… I love long haul flights. Don’t get me wrong if I could speed up air travel and be in Australia from England in just five hours I’d be all over that. But seeing as that’s not the case I’m so on board with a long flight time.

Good job really, as I’m currently in Australia (have I mentioned this before, I’m not sure!) and have two long haul flights to come this weekend to get me home. The joy in a long haul flight isn’t just because you’re heading off on an exciting adventure. It’s also about that lovely freedom you have when you’re up in the air. You don’t have anything you have to be doing. And you can doze or read to your heart’s content. Having said that it can be a complete pain at times, so here are my top tips for long haul flights.

Hydration

This is perhaps the most important tip to ensure you feel yourself on arrival. Drink all the water you can find. It genuinely does make a difference and will have you feeling so much better on arrival. Definitely don’t just make do with the tiny bottles they give you once every three hours. Take your own bottle with you and fill it up hourly.

Entertainment

These days the in-flight entertainment systems are pretty good and you’re bound to find two or three films that you want to watch, but what’s really important is that you have lots of other options as well. Just in case your TV is the one that breaks (been there, dealt with that) or in case the films aren’t that good. I always have my Kindle so that there are multiple books that I want to read at my disposal, at least one magazine from WH Smith at the airport and a whole host of shows or films downloaded onto my iPad. That way I can switch between forms of entertainment to my heart’s content. So I might read for an hour, then watch a film, then browse the magazines, before settling down for a couple of episodes of my current Netflix obsession. It really is the only way to survive a long haul flight. Plus it’s fun as I’d never normally allow myself to get stuck into a book or TV show for 7+ hours without taking a break!

Decent Headphones

These are an actual necessity. Headphones that block other people out so you can read, sleep, watch TV in peace for as long as you want. Ain’t no one want to listen to a hacking cough, someone’s sniffles or any other such thing for hours on end. Headphones are the only answer.

Comfortable Clothes

I have absolutely no care about what I look like while travelling. I’m all about the snuggly socks, big jumpers and comfy trousers on a plane. Plus I’ll probably plait my hair or leave it lose, no matter how greasy it is. On a long haul flight I’m all about the comfort. It’s most certainly not a fashion show. I can’t imagine anything worse than wearing heels or jeans for 24 hours of a journey that includes long walks to the gate or lots of sitting still. That’s definitely not for me.

Sleep

Now we’re on to the holy grail of long haul travel. The wonder that is sleep. I’m not normally someone that can sleep on planes, it’s just never something I’ve been able to do. But I always live in hope that I will be able to as the one or two times I’ve been able to sleep for big chunks of time, it’s been a life-safer. You feel rested and you don’t have a chance to get bored. The actual long haul dream, am I right?!

Do you have any top tips for surviving a long haul trip? What always works for you?